With the pandemic highlighting the importance of students’ physical, social and emotional health, an influential Tennessee committee is urging Gov. Bill Lee to prioritize more funding for school nurses and counselors next year.
An annual investment of about $110 million would get Tennessee to nationally recommended ratios of nurses and counselors in public schools, according to the panel of government and education officials that annually reviews the state’s education funding formula.
The improvements, outlined Monday in a letter to Lee, would allow Tennessee to fund one nurse for every 750 students instead of the current ratio of 1 to 3,000.
Tennessee also could fund one counselor for every 250 students. Currently, the state covers the cost of one counselor for every 500 students in elementary schools and one per 350 students in grades seven through 12.
The recommendations mark the first time Tennessee’s BEP Review Committee has elevated both needs to the top of its priority list for how to improve public education through the funding formula known as the Basic Education Program.